Teatime At Hermione's
by Sesshy'sGirlLOL01
Summary: Hermione did not react in the way that he thought she would, in fact, she did not react at all. She merely rose from her chair and did something that all good English women do when their best friends confess to being in a relationship with an older man. She turned the kettle on.


A/N: Just a little thing that's been hanging around me for a while. Hope you all like it.

Teatime with Hermione

"Oh Harry, hello!" Hermione greeted her friend as she opened the door to her flat. She smiled and ushered him in. she closed the door behind her and followed him into the dining room- she was a little surprised that he had come, usually Harry didn't just arrive unannounced, she wondered if something was wrong.

"How have you been Harry?" she sat down across from him. "I haven't seen you in ages- though I admit I've been quite busy myself with my research."

Harry scratched his hand nervously and looked away. "No Hermione, it's my fault too. I've been.. busy lately." His voice trailed off and he looked away from her.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. She wasn't called the cleverest witch of the age for nothing. Something was wrong with Harry. He wanted to talk to her, why else would he be there? "How is work?" she asked gently, knowing Harry would need some time before he talked about his problems.

Harry smirked. "Fine, Kings is working me hard, 'no special treatment for the hero'" he quoted the minister, a laugh escaped his lips. "No work is good, I've never been happier. What about you? You and Snape killed each other yet?"

"Harry the fact that I am sitting here, and talking to you, shows that we have not 'killed each other'." She smirked thinly at him- Harry noted that she was adopting traits from her work colleague and partner. "Thank you Harry, we're fine- I haven't been as happy in a relationship as I am now. And our potions work together stimulates my thirst for knowledge."

Harry pulled a face- while he had taken her relationship a thousand times better than Ron had, he still looked ill every time the idea of Hermione and Snape together sexually. "I still can't believe it, you and him- how?" he looked up at her with a desperation in his eyes- she wondered what was really bothering him, he had heard it all before, there was no way his distress was caused by her relationship with Snape.

"Now," Hermione began, resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward. "I hardly believe that you are here to hear me talk about how myself and Severus came to be- you have already heard, _multiple times_ , how. So Harry, what is really on your mind? It's quite clear that something is bothering you." She decided just to be blunt with him, she would have preferred that he talked to her of his own volition, but the Harry she knew needed a push sometimes.

Harry went red and glanced down at the white doily's on the table- a house warming gift from Molly, if he remembered correctly, and if he also remembered correctly, Snape hated them. His lips twitched at the crocheted monstrosity. "I thought Snape would have thrown them out by now." He gestured to the white objects.

Hermione smiled proudly. "I enjoyed winning that argument." Her eyes glazed as she remembered the event fondly. "Now," she spoke suddenly. "don't try and change the subject." She chastised- she had always been very good at that. "Harry seriously, what is bothering you, I'm always here to help." She reached out and touched his hand.

Harry looked at their intertwined hands, then to the doily, then to the black table cloth- Snape- then back to their hands. He felt Hermione give his hand a supportive squeeze and he felt the last vestiges of his wall crumble. "I'm sleeping with Remus." He uttered quietly. "We've been together a little over a year."

He closed his eyes and waited for her reaction. Her anger, her judgement, _anything_. When she slipped her hand from his he looked up at her and awaited his doom. Hermione did not react in the way that he thought she would, in fact, she did not react at all. She merely rose from her chair and did something that all good English women do when their best friends confess to being in a relationship with an older man. She turned the kettle on.

The sound of the water boiling was almost as frightening as her silence as she reached into the cupboards and collected two cups and saucers. He flinched at the kettles screech as the water came to a boil. And he felt his hands tremble as she prepared two cups of earl grey tea. He then watched her wearily as she placed a cup and saucer at his and her seat before she herself sat.

"Oh Harry." She said, finally breaking the spell. "How did this happen?" she didn't sound angry, or ashamed with him, she simply sounded curious.

Harry eyed her like a deer caught at headlights. He had told her first because she was always the voice of reason, and was the most likely to be accepting of his relationship, but even still, he had thought that she would have felt something about the situation, other than curiosity. _I suppose when you're in a relationship with Snape, you can't really judge others._ He thought wryly.

Shaking his head, he looked up into the understanding brown eyes of his best friend. He racked his brain for the answer to her question. In all honesty he could not pinpoint just when his relationship with Remus had begun. By the time that started, they had already been so close with each other that Harry hardly noticed the change in their relationship.

"I suppose," Harry began with a gesture of his hands. "It, like most _other things_ ," he shot Hermione a look. "began with the war."

Hermione nodded. "I can understand that, but how, I never saw the two of you as anything other than a parental relationship- I am really curious as to how this came to be." She took a sip of her tea and waited for him to answer.

"Perhaps we happened the same way that Snape managed to _ensnare your senses"_ he chuckled at her scathing glare. "Alright I'm sorry, but you have to admit the joke made the mood lighter."

" _Harry._ "

"Alright!" he held his hands up defensively. "Sorry about the joke." He eyed her and ran a hand through his hair before he continued. "We well… it started in the library at Grimmauld." He smiled lightly at the memory. "I was being angsty, not even angst, I was depressed about the war, people dying and all of the lives that depended on me… I," he let out a breath. "I got angry, I started to throw things… break things…" he looked at Hermione who was watching him intently.

He took a sip of drink before continuing. "Remus came in and he… well, stopped me. He held me while I… while I cried…" he shook his head at the memory. "He was very good to me, he held me and talked to me about how things weren't my fault… and then he told me that he would always be there for me… he cared, we weren't intimate that night, but that was probably when I instinctively, at least, started to view him, differently…"

"He started to see me in the evenings when he could, we'd talk… he'd help me learn spells and more importantly, he listened, he didn't judge me, and he didn't treat me like a child." He eyed Hermione who held a question on the tip of her lips. "It was before we, you, Ron and me, left when he kissed me. He somehow knew that I was leaving and came to talk to me- he didn't try to stop us, he just wanted us to be careful and then he kissed me- it left me feeling… complete… he told me to be careful and that he would wait for me and fight for me."

Hermione finished her tea and rose to make some more. "And you've been together since?" she quipped.

Harry ducked his head with a smile. "Three years next week."

Hermione slammed her tea cup down and turned on him, her eyes seething. "Three years! You've been with him for three years, and you didn't tell me!"

He raised his hands defensively. "I wasn't sure how anyone would react and Remus doesn't need the bad attention."

Hermione finished making her tea and came back to sit with him. "I know," she began. "You don't need the attention either, however you must realise that people are going to react to this. Especially Ron, and Molly really wanted you to marry Ginny."

Harry flinched. "Well I guess I'll find out next week how they feel when I tell them at dinner- I wanted to see you first because you are the only person I could think of who wouldn't see this in the negative."

Hermione's eyes softened. "I'm happy for you Harry, both of you." She reached over and touched his hand. "I'll be for you both if anyone has anything to say about it." She squeezed his hand.

Harry smiled and squeezed back. "Thank you."

"Now," Hermione leaned back in her chair. "Remus does know that I have a very dangerous man who would love to make a throw rug out of him- and I'll use him if he does anything to hurt you." She chuckled at him.

Harry sent her a wryly smile. "You are starting to sound like him you know."

She returned the smile. "I know.

A/N: something short and sweet, I hope you enjoyed it!

Review?


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